Researchers Develop Methods for Fighting Crime on Cyber Network Tor

Nordforsk has granted the Department of Computer and Systems Sciences SEK 3.5 million for developing techniques for collecting evidence of cyber crime taking place on the anonymity network Tor, as a part of the project ”Police Detectives on the TOR-network (A Study on Tensions Between Privacy and Crime Fighting)”.

The project aims to study serious international cyber crime like trafficking, arms and drug dealing, and cyber terrorism, taking place on the Tor network – while at the sametime mainting the integrity and anonymity of the users. Professor Oliver Popov will be responsible for the parts of the project related to digital forensics and IT security.

- In the project we will develop method and techniques of highest sceintific standards for fighting crime on the Tor network, that are not only morally defencible, legally acceptable but also forensically sound, in order to collect evidence of possible illicit activities, Oliver says.

The project has been granted a total of SEK 13 million for a period of four years, starting January 2017, and is a collaboration between Stockholm University (SE), Open University (NL) and NHL University of Applied Sciences, The Norwegian Police University College, and Northumbria Law School (UK).